Clutch and throttle control



Jan. 21, 1947.

J. F. CHAPMAN 2,414,117

CLUTCH AND THROTTLE CONTROL Filed Sept. 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTOR dang/76k Maw ATTORNEY Jan. 21, 1947. J, F. CHAPMAN CLUTCH AND,THROTTLE cpNTRoL Filed Sept. 23, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR James FCba vman ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 21, 1947 :UN I 'FED STAT-"ES RATE NT OFFICE CLUTCH AND THROTTLE rCON'IRGL James F. Chapman, Upper: Danby, .Pa assignorv .to ASE-B i Met s an New YQr Y-,

a corporation-pfDelaware enpiie t n Se mb 2 .t 24;=2; SeriakN 45% 11 This invention relates to a clutch and throttle control mechanism of the type in Which clnt ch movernents exercise a limited control over-the throttle; mechanism.

5 ;E Xcessive clutch face wear has been occasioned by ca re1 ess operators who race their engine .prior to -engargement of;the c1ntch or by operatorswho ,clr ive with; their; foot resting on,v the clutch, thus .wunconsci onsly relieving the pressure on theclntch faces iand;-icausing,slippage. Poor judgment in the rate, of engagement of the clutch wil1 cause excessive clutch Wear as Will alsooleliberate slip- ,ping of the clutch bytthe operator. It has been fo undl that the clutches in motor vehicles of public carriers ha ve a normal life varying from 19,000

tot5 0,Q00 mi 1es, with the; variation due almost entirely to poor operation of the clutch. It is an object thereforaeof the present invention to provide 'a clutch operating and engine control mechanismgwith the parts sol connected as to. insure 1 asrednction of engine speed to a, predetermined low range uponmovementto release the clutch.

Aiurtherrpbjectlof the: invention is the provision of. a forcelactuated controller interposed ,between. the clutchcp eplal ancl theclutch throwout andcontro-lling the rangepflmovementpf the engine control, mechanism.

A stillifurthei object of the invention is the provisiongof a control mechanism positivelyllimiting. the ton speed-of an'engine uponimovement actuated from sub$tantiallyi engaged v to normal t running .position.

These and other objects of the invention will be, apparent to persons .skilled -inlthe art from a study iof the. following description andaccompa' yinedrawin s, i which jiliignre 1. is, a. perspective viewnof the ,improved mechanism; [Eigi a sectional View. through the force ac- ,tnated controller of Fig. 1;

jj Eigf. 3 is a "detail view showing a slight modification of Fig. linthat, the positionof the force agtnated controller has been changed, and Fig. {i is a diagrammatic viewiof a further modification with parts broken awayto bette isclose the construction of the. mechanism.

Beferringnow to the drawings injdetail, it will be seen that in ,each case the entire mechanism A is composed of ,threemain parts, namely, an engi c ntrol a me hanism, a clutch pp rati ng ,irhi hi c nne ted-t mend @eeheniem; nd ai r eiee e e t l r eratecl; by theclutch actnating force and contrqlling the movements 0f lthenengine control mechanism. As shown inEig. l theflengine-conc troll mechanism. comprises i an. accelerator pedal 2,connected by pnsh rod 3 to an end oflcj'rank 4 which is}fixeql upon an endpfcross shaft 5. ."Ifhe other end of the cross, shaft has non-rotatably connected. theretojan arm ii carrying at its lower enol a block llsliolablymounted npon rod 8. The

rocl 81s; pi ovidecl at one end with an adjusting collar {against whichbear one end of a spring iii, the; other end otyvhich bears against block e e ieue v. eierre li- The lee e e d of e 8 s n eennee e tte. arm fi e enve e sha t? iwhiehinlwi'nch e n ab y moun lyih r en E arm T 31111 jifliee en f a m l 3 s ye el r i n eted ey ed'r w i hie ni r connected tg c ne armnf a bell crank l 5, theother arm--ofwhich is connected tothe more or less conventionalcarburetonpiill rod I5. The null rod. isconnectedtoarm llfiiged to the conven- -tionalqthrottle-valve; mountedinthe eduction pipe 'iil-of the carburetor l9. From the above and with-the 1inkag-arranged asshown, it will -be-seen-'that-application of pressure to the accel- "er-ator pedaywiIl-cause tension-invade 8 -14 and 16 thusopening:rthe throttle valve in the carburetor eduction-nine. The slidable connection -hetween block Jrandrod s permits-relative move- A-ment rh'etweenuthe acceleraton pedal and. rod 3 with: .the:=relative movement; controlled by compression springz'l 9.5) In other words; if the throttle valve were held; closed; :movementxof-the accelera- .t or medal, coulcl only-compress springs] 0,1 and: the

eenergy available; toegopem itheclthrottle' would; be ion yzthatst rediin sprinezl i- T'Ihe clutchzioperating, mechanism as shown; in @E 1 includesmthemclutch separat n pe l; :22

2: arm: 23 non-I l J; p e nonr r 2 ermzzif siepn e fie H e 5: V. a ,q e\;ee e e w ne en v t raee e i rmem m e 2 ne e med e portion .ofilthe ahgle gformv member is; fulcrurnnied on, anchorec l ias at za o gneendvoflan arm.29 l xedh ql t vi atnerlt e i ta b ee t e 1 T ,hraek t'h e va t h d ere e a s d arm-31 be Whi h s .t Let dl ed w the o i e e cpnnecteq to an, arm, 33. 1 Elle arm. 33 is non-rofltatabl mqunteqlon cross shaftfifl. whic also. non- ..retetab wer reeeendrer 5. D n e n eet toa rod fifi. ""The od' iifi is. connected throngh arm ;3i toclutch throw,outv nema. It will thus vhe thatlriepr ssion. oi luten dal 22* will. pla

3 the linkage consisting of the bracket 30 and all of the rods and arms referred to under tension and cause movement of the clutch throwout collar to released position. The clutch will, of course, be adjusted as is customary so that a certain predetermined free movement of the clutch pedal is had before actual pressure can be applied to throw out the clutch.

The bracket 30, forming part of the clutch throw-out linkage previously referred to, has mounted thereon as by bolts40 a valve structure 4!, all as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The free end of angle form member 21 overlies and has its movement limited by upstanding cylindrical extension 42 of bracket 30. Located within this cylindrical extension is a spring 43 hearing at one end on the bracket and at the other end against the under side of th free arm of angle form member 27. The free end of the angle form member 21 has attached thereto a collar 44 internally threaded to receive an adjusting screw 45 which may be locked in position by locknut 45. The lower end of adjusting screw 45 bears against thrust pin 41 extending through an opening in the bracket and bearing against the upper end of a valve slide 48. The valve slide is mounted for reciprocation in the valve body and is normally held in its upper position by a compression spring 49. The lower end of the compression spring bears against a plate 53 having a central opening therein finished to provide a valve seat against which ball is normally seated, The ball 5i is connected by link 52 to a second ball 53 and the connected balls are normally held in the upper position by a compression spring 54*. The valve slide is provided with an axial bore 55 formed at its lower edge with a valve seat adapted to cooperate with ball 53 and connecting through ports 56 with passages and pipe 51 which forms an exhaust to atmosphere for the valve. Chambers are provided on opposite sides of plate 50 with the lowermost chamber being connected by pipe 58 including a flexible connection 59 to an air reservoir or other source of pressure 60. The chamber above plate 50 is connected by pipe 6| which includes aflexi- -ble length 62 to a throttle blockout cylinder 63.

From the preceding it will be seen that downward movement of the free end of angle form member 21 is resisted by spring 43 but when downward movement occurs the push rod 41 will move the slide valve 48 downwardly causing ball 53 to seat against the slide prior to the pushing of ball 51 off of its seat on plate 50. When ball 5! is unseated air under pressure can'flow into pipes 6| but not to atmosphere since ball 53 .has previously closed the connection to exhaust ment of arm 27 to cause valve operation can,

of course, be controlled by adjusting screw 45. It will be seen that without any control over the free end of arm 21 no motion could be transmitted from rod 26 to rod 32 of the clutch operating mechanism. However, by interposing the special force actuated controller in the clutch linkage the first movements of angle member 21 will causean operation of the valve, then 21 becomes seated against extension 42 and the rod 26 is to all intents and purposes rigidly connected to 32 and can transmit motion directly thereto, that is,

after 21 becomes seated on extension 42 the entire controller moves with rods 26 and 32 with the motion permitted by the flexible connections 59 and 62 previously referred to. In other words, force applied to the clutch pedal cannot become active at the clutch throwout collar 38 until the valve has been moved and arm 21 has come to rest upon extension 42. It is, of course, obvious that spring 43 is not of suflicient strength to resist movement of arm 2'! sufficiently to permit clutch throwout. However, the proper strength spring is selected in accordance with the desired operation so as to insure valve-operation prior to release of the clutch to the point where excessive slippage could occur. In other words, preselection of the leverage of angle form member 21 and the strength or" spring 43 will permit accurate control of the point at'which direct inflexible connection is made between the clutch pedal and clutch throwout collar, thus the exact point of absolute clutch release can be accurately controlled.

The throttle blockout cylinder 63, previously referred to, is provided with a piston normally carried in its innermost position and having the piston rod 64 pivotally connected to levers 65 which in turn have their intermediate portion connected to an arm 66 formed integral with or attached in some suitable manner to the cylinder head. Levers 65 are connected at their free end through a flexible connection 61 to a block 68 clamped upon rod 8 at a predetermined location. The flexible connection is shown in the present instance as formed of chain but the exact form is immaterial. However, it is important that sufiicient slack be provided in the connection as to permit full movement of rod 8 tothrottle open position when the piston is in its innermost position shown in Fig. 1. When the piston moves outwardly under air pressure admitted to the cylinder by pipe til, then lever 65 will cause the flexible connection 61 to pull rod 8 toward throttle closing position. By way of illustration, the engine control mechanism, which includes thecarburetor, is so adjusted that when the accelerator is in full closed throttle position with the parts as shown in Fig. 1 the engine rotates at 500 R. P. M. and the block 58 is clamped to rod 8 in such a position as to restrict opening movement ofithe throttle beyond a position holding the engine at say 1000 R. P. M. when the piston of the cylinder 63 is in its outermost position (not shown). If the accelerator pedal is in its uppermost position, that is, throttle closed, then actuation of the piston will in no way effect the throttle setting but only lessen the amount of the slack in 61. If the accelerator pedal isclear down or in throttle open position and the piston of cylinder 631s actuated to its outermost position, then connection 6! will through block 68 pull the rod 3 toward a throttle closing position and bring the enginefrom'full speed to, the intermediate speed of say 1000 R. P. M. This movement of rod 8 is permitted by compression of spring It]. If the piston of cylinder '63 has moved the'rod 8 as just described and the operator thenreleases the accelerator, the rod 8. can immediately move to full throttle closed position, that is, return the engine to say 500 R. P. M. or idle.

In certaininstallations it may be handier to place the force actuated controller at some other location in the clutch release linkage and such placement is shown in Fig. 3. In this jif orm the force actuatedcontr'oller is so arranged as to take the place of arm 31 of Fig. 1 and wherever possible the same reference characters have been applied. As 'clearly shown the shaft which is rigidly connected-to the clutch throwout :collar has keyed and clamped thereto an element having-two arm's located substantially at right angles to each other and one providing a. fulcrumed point 53 for a lever iil, one endof which is "connected to the pull rod-36 and'the other end provided with substantially the same arrangement of parts as was. described in connection-with Fig.

2 wherebyoperation of the valve 4! maybe accemplished. The secondarm of the element pro- '51. Excessive movement of lever 10, which might result in displacement of spring 43 and associated' valve parts, is controlled by means of a stop ii! as clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen thattension placed in 35 will cause pivotal motion of lever i moving the slide valve parts as described in connection with Fig. 2 until the lever strikesthe adjustable stop H, after which the parts become a rigid part of the linkage and direct motion is transmitted to the clutch throwout collar. It is obvious that the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 may be substituted for any of the arms 25; 33, 55 or 31 of the clutch operating mechanism and it will also be obvious that insofar as control is concerned the modification of i Fig. 3 will operate exactly as that shown in Fig. l.

In some'cases it may be desirable or necessary to provide fluid control for the clutch throwout -mechanism and if so then the parts could be arranged as shown in Fig. 4 wherein the same reference numerals have been applied wherever possible in order to simplify the explanation. In

i this form the arm 5 of the engine control mechanism is connected directly by a rod 15 to one 'be'exten'ded or stretched in case the throttle is held closed and the accelerator moved to throttle open position. Mounted on the carburetor it is a bracket 8! and this bracket has mounted thereon a throttle blockout cylinder 82. The piston of this cylinder is so connected as to cause rotation ofa shaft 83 carrying at its outer end anarm at with the free end of the arm having connected thereto a bolt or other means 85pmiecting intothe path of movement of throttle arm ll. t will, of course, be obvious that slack connecticnbetween the free end of arm E i and throttle arm ll may be made permitting adjustment exactly as was permitted in the construction of Fig. 1. A torsion spring 86 is provided which constantly urges the arm 85 to a position in contact with'throttle arm l'l.

Arm .23 of the clutch operating mechanism is connected to a shaft 813 journaled in a liquid reservoir 89 carried by any suitable part of the vehicle body. Shaft 88 has fastened thereto an arm as which in turn is connected by push rod 9! to piston 92 of a master cylinder 93. The master cylinder is connected by a pipe 9% to a clutch slave cylinder 95 which has its piston connected through piston rod 96 to an arm 91 mounted on a shaft such as the cross shaft 3% of Fig. l and which is connected by pull rod as to the clutch throwout collar. The arm 91 could, of

course,: bel directly: connected if i desired. toi- .the shaft I upon which. the clutch throwout .Icollar .is mounted. Spring 98 :is connected to the slave cylinder fandto the piston and constant1y urges "the piston into its innermost position. The pipe 94 1 is provided with a branch. pipe .99 1 directly connected to the throttle blockoutwcylinder '82 previously referred to.

and of clutch slave cylinder 95.

. Itw'ill be obvious that depression of clutch pedal 22 will cause piston 92 tomove downwardlygiving equal pressurein pipes 94 and '99 tending to move the pistons of throttle blockout cylinder 82 However the throttle blockoutcylinder partsand spring :Btare so adjusted as to move'under a much lighter pressure than'will the piston of the clutch slave cylinder. In otheriwords, before the clutch-can be thrown out by the slave cylinder the throttle block cylinder has moved arm 84 to suchaa position as to limit the'range of'movement hof arm H of the engine throttle. I The. parts; are adjustedito yield thei'same operationsas': described in iconnectiomwith' Fig: 1; that is; for :example,

'whenthe accelerator is in? throttle closedposition the;enginepspeed is limited .to say 500 R. P. M. or

- idle. Movement-ofthe accelerator-to the floor-or throttleopen positionwfll either move the throttle to Wide open .ipositi'oncorto. an intermediate po- .sition with spring Bilstretching to accommodate the differencedependent upon the condition of throttle block cylinders. 82. Depression of the elutchpedal will resultin jequal pressure in pipes Q5. and 99 rendering the throttle block cylinder I active and preventingthe throttle arm llifrom moving except: in the range from" idle to intermediate "or .start position.

. It will be'seen that: in all the forms. the accelerator may. .operaterinx normal ffashion provided the. clutch pedaluisxin fully released or normal termediate or start :position.

. movement of; the accelerator except in a range from idle or throttle closed position to an in- The location of i the start'orintermediate position may be readily predetermined and adjusted dependent upon the conditions of service It will beimpossible for'the clutch to be moved sufficiently to cause slipping without actuating the. throttle block fcylinder since in every case the force to b transmitted to the 'clutch throvvout cannot be fully applied until the throttle blockout cylinder has functioned. Also, it will be impossible for an operator to cause excessive slipping of the clutch 'during starting for the clutch must be engaged with substantially its full pressure before the bleeding of the throttle blockout cylinder is permitted. The rate of bleeding may be, of course. controlled in any suitable manner such as by restricting the pipes 51 and 99 or in applying a check and bleeding by-pass in the pipe 99 in the hydraulic system. By controlling the bleeding rate it will be possible for an operator to fully depress the accelerator pedal during or prior to the engagement of the clutch but such depression will not have any effect beyond bringing the engine to the starting speed, then after the clutch is fully engaged the rate of bleeding will control the rate of movement of the throttle to open or running position. In this way adjustment could be made to obtain maximum acceleration without any possibility of slipping or camp I 7 without the use of any particular skill "on the part of the operator. In case an operator had the accelerator fully depressed and placed his foot on clutch pedal 22 with too much pressure,

the engine would immediately be returned to a low speed corresponding to the starting speed of ments other than those shown and described will be possible and all such modifications, rearrangements ofparts and adjustments are contemplatedas will fall Within the scope of the appended claims defining my invention.

' What is claimed is:

1; The combination with a clutch operating mechanism including a clutch pedal operatively connected to a clutch throw-out collar, and an engine control mechanism including an accelerator pedal operatively connected to an' engine throttle; of an air reservoir, 2. block out cylinder having a piston therein, an air control valve connected to said reservoir and blockout cylinder,'linkage forming part of the operative connection between the clutch pedal and clutch throw-out collar, said linkage being connected to said air control valve and incapable of transmitting sufiicient force to the clutch throw-out collar to release the clutch until after the air valve connected to said source of fluid pressure,

force transmitting linkage forming part of the operative connection between the clutch pedal and the throw-out collar and having said pressure control. valve included therein as a force transmitting element} a blockout cylinder having a piston therein and being connected to said pressure control valve, said pressure control valve operating to connect said blockout cylinder and source or pressure prior to movement of ----tne throw-out collar towards clutch releasing 7 position, means connecting the piston of said blockout cylinderto said engine control mechanism intermediate the accelerator pedal and engine throttle, and a lost motion connection form- 'ing part of said engine control mechanism and interposed between said accelerator pedal and the point of connection of said means to said engine control mechanism.

3. The combination with a clutch operating mechanism including a clutch pedal operatively connected to a throw-out collar, and an engine control mechanism including an accelerator pedal operatively connected to an engine throttle; of a fluid pressure reservoir, a blockout cylinder having a piston therein, a pressure control valve connected to said fluid pressure reservoir and blockout cylinder, force transmitting linkage forming part of the operative connection between the clutch pedal and the throw-out collar and including said pressure control valve asa force transmitting element, said linkage operating said pressure control valve to admit fluid under pressur to said block-out cylinder upon application of a force to the clutch pedal of a value less than that necessary to start clutch releasing movement, and means connecting the piston or saidblockout cylinder to said engine control mechanism intermediate the accelerator pedal and engine throttle.

4. The combination with a clutch operating mechanism including a clutch throw-out collar, and an engine control mechanism including a throttle; of force transmitting linkage connected to the clutch throw-out collar, 8. controller device, and means connected to said controller device and operable thereby to block certain movements of the engine throttle, said, controller device being connected in said force transmitting linkage and rendering the same incapable of transmitting sufiicient force to release the clutch until after said means has been operated to block certain movements of the engine throttle.

5. The combination with a clutch operating mechanism including a clutch throw-out collar,

and an engine control mechanism including a throttle; a force transmitting linkage'connected to the clutch throw-outcollar, a controller device, and means connected to said controller device and operable thereby topermitopening movement of the engine throttle, said controller device being a part of said force transmitting linkage and capable of operating said means to permit opening movement of the engine throttle only after the lapse of a predetermined time interval following substantially full clutch engagement.

JAMES F. CHAPMAN. 

